Page 86 of Pretend Girlfriend

I forgot all about it while snorkeling. It was so peaceful floating on the surface, all sound muted by the dense water, watching the ocean wildlife spread out below me. The water was only about ten feet deep, and clear enough that I could see the sandy ocean floor. But there were so many fish that the floor was often obscured; schools of fish continuously swam underneath me, far too many to count in the brief moments they passed by.

A larger shape glided by, and for a brief instant I thought it was a shark. But it was only Landon, swimming down near the bottom, floating upside-down and grinning up at me like a goofball.

I waved him away, but he pretended to be confused. He cupped his hand to his ear like he couldn’t hear me, then continued flapping his arms to propel himself gently forward, directly below me, matching my speed.

On land, he was undeniably attractive. He had a great body, one I’d been admiring since he had spent a large portion of our time shirtless. But the weightless effect of being underwater accentuated all of his features. On land he had a four-pack of abdominal muscles, but underwater I could see six. His biceps were especially bulging as he slowly swam. And somehow the delicious V-shape of his waist and broad shoulders seemed more pronounced.

Was it the weightlessness from being submerged, or was I just noticing it more?

It made me wonder if my ass and boobs looked just as good. I hoped so.

After we were done and turned in our equipment, we hurried back to our beach chairs. I was shivering by this point; despite the hot sand and warm air, the water had been frigid and had sapped all the heat from my body.

“Here,” Landon said when I asked for a towel. “You’re shivering.”

“It’s cold!”

Rather than handing me the towel, he wrapped it around me and rubbed my arms up and down through the cotton fabric. I hunched inward and savored the warmth created by the friction. And when I was no longer shivering, I savored the feeling of being in his arms. He was so intent on warming me up, quietly focused on the task. It made me feel like I mattered. Like I was more than just his fake girlfriend for the week.

“I’m, uh, going to go back to the room and shower to get the salt water off,” he told me. “You don’t need the room for a while, right?”

“No, why?” I asked.

“Just making sure you don’t pop in and catch me changing again.”

I rolled my eyes. “I promise not to leave the beach until you get back.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Unless Marisa asks me to get something,” I called after him. “I can’t say no to the bride. Or if Danicka wants to see the room we were upgraded to. Or if I think about anything I might need!”

He walked backwards for a few seconds so he could flip me off with a big smile.

Grinning to myself, I pulled my chair away from the shade and stretched out to allow the sun to warm me up.

When Landon returned, I said, “That took a while.”

“It was only a few minutes.”

I glanced at my phone. “Twenty minutes.”

“What, are you timing me, now?”

“Just making sure you didn’t pick up a couple of Jamaican prostitutes,” I teased.

“If I do, I promise to inform you.” He gestured behind him. “I’m going to hang out by the pool with Bradyn for a while. You going to stick around here?”

“Maybe,” I said. Then, thinking quickly, I added, “I might go back to the room to take a nap. Promise not to disturb me if I do?”

“I’ll text before interrupting your daytime slumber,” he promised.

Sensing an opening, I immediately texted Theo.

Me: Landon is hanging out by the pool for a while. Meet me in my suite in five minutes?

Theo: I’ll be there in four.

I gathered my things and returned to my room, engaging the deadbolt before closing the door in order to prop it open. Then I went up to the rooftop deck. We had a perfect ocean view, and if I was standing right up against the railing I could see one of the pools and bars down below. But if I stepped back a few feet, I was veiled in privacy thanks to the potted bushes on the roof.

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